We wondered what would happen if a monstrous pumpkin ale, plump full of spicy gourdiness, were aged in fine fresh rum barrels to add suggestions of delicate oak and candied molasses. Rumpkin is what happened! This first member of the Annual Barrel-Aged Series was brewed with roasted pumpkins from a local Boulder County farm, and spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger.

Pours a moderate brownish color with a bit of an orange tint to it. There's some light lacing after a single-finger head dies down. The nose is pretty boozy, but at the same time it works with the brown sugar and dark rum character in addition to plenty of pumpkin spicing. Everything is well integrated and though it's boozy, the rum notes work well with the pumpkin and spicing, so I don't have anything to complain about.

The taste goes quite a ways downhill as the intricate rum characteristics are overlaid with all too much booze. Just really, really heavy on the alcohol here. There is some spicing there as well. The feel takes it even lower, as there is nothing there but booze. Pretty heavy body. Drinkability isn't all that high given the excessive booze. It's a shame that the booze took this one over. I wish this were in bottles so I could lay one down for a year to see what happens.

A: Pours a murky brown with big hues of red. There is about a half finger of khaki colored head that settles quickly into a thing ring that hugs the edges of the glass.

S: This beer is big on booze (possibly barrel treatment), but yet smells kind of like a band-aid. There is a definite astringency to this beer. There are scents of big malts, a little vinegar, and dash of sea-weed. This beer isn’t for me.

T: This beer is sweet and syrupy right up front. But that quickly changes into a ton of boozy and a touch of tartness. It’s a bit sour. God damn, this beer has to be high in ABV. The finish is a mix of all three major players: the booze, the sweet malt, and whatever is making it tart.

M: Full bodied beer. This beer is sticky, chewy, and totally cloying. The flavors envelop the palate and hold on for dear life.

O: This beer just isn’t doing it for me. It’s seems like a barleywine or an old ale that is just starting to turn into a sour mess.

Pours a burnt dark orange/bronze with absolutely zero head. Aroma has a ton of heat to it; dominated by the rum with some pumpkin and spices hiding underneath. Flavor too is dominated by the heat, it lets you know its 18% but the other flavors are more prevalent in the flavor, some pumpkin, spices, and a nice thick sugary vanilla.. Mouthfeel is nice, fuller with little activity. Overall, I was hoping for a little more from this than it delivered. Avery usually does an amazing job disguising the ABV in these beers but here all 18% definitely showed itself. I would have liked the pumpkin and spices to have been more assertive to help balance things out.

I'm just not really sure how to describe what I was tasting. Was like drinking a really thick, mulled cider. Lots of rum, cloves, cinnamon, and alcohol burn. Not very smooth and I don't really feel like the flavors complimented each other. Glad I was given the opportunity to try this, but don't really feel l need another. Possibly would be better with aging.

Has an almost overwhelming, wooden barrel character, which gets enhanced by an incredibly zesty, herbal, sweet spiciness, featuring glazed pumpkin and burning booze, all put into an intriguing balance. The brews complex, honeyed maltiness interacts well with the slighty fermented, earthy and sweet pumpkin, both smells blending together hold the barrel intensity at bay.

This is so much sweeter than I expected it to be, with loads of molasses, toffee and cane sugar, kicking my teeths in, finished off wih an intense alcoholic burn, while the barrel's woodenness gets almost swallowed entirely by the sugar. The malt foundations gets overpowered by the sweetness already during the very beginning, joined by a sharp alcoholic impact, and only manages to try finding its balance during a later stage, due to the calming herbs and spices, which all in all aren't capable to stop the sugar madness too. The rum barrel is very well integrated though, providing a burning, slightly bitter counterpart to the sugar, which would result into a slightly dry, medicine-like impression, if it wasn't for the muddy, leafy herbs of mace, cardamon and vanilla, to provide some sort of balance. FInishes with caramelized malts among molasses and an confirming booziness, leaving enough space on the palate for the actual pumpkin to fit in, supported by wooden herbs.

Never thought this one would be found on my local shelves, but, hey, I'm not gonna argue. It pours a sunset tawn' topped by a half-finger of cream-tan foam. The nose comprises spiced rum, extra brown sugar, light oak, vanilla bean, and caramel. A heavy spike of booze keeps full enjoyment at bay. The taste follows pretty closely, with the rum getting all up-close-and-personal with my tastebuds. The spices and vanilla bean are strong as well. There's pretty much no trace of any pumpkin, save the residual spices that get lost in the pre-existing spice forest in the rum. And, once again, the booze is more than present. The body is a stolid medium, with a very light moderate carbonation and a thick, syrupy feel. Overall, this was too much of a rum bomb to be fully enjoyable. If you like spiced rum, you'll love this stuff. It's not bad enough to be considered bad, but nothing I would really feel comfortable calling truly good.

12 oz. bottle poured into a Firestone Walker snifter. Bottled October 5, 2011. Labeled 15.90% ABV. Trying to get rid of bottles in my "cellar," but this one isn't in my catalog. Just found it back there. Hate when that happens. It's like it doesn't even count.

Appearance - Burnt orange to deep ruby body. Ample head as I pour it, but it's short lived. Collar sticks around a while. Sediment floats about the glass.

Smell - I can smell the rum from the initial crack of the cap. Spiced rum. Further inspection reveals a deep molasses sweetness and a ton of booze. Reminiscent of a rum barreled English barleywine.

Taste - Smooth sweet caramel and rum. Maybe some pumpkin there, definitely the spices associated. Cinnamon and nutmeg. All that stuff. After the initial flavors, an oaky dry boozy wave of alcohol hits. Sharp flavors sting the tongue. It settles to a lingering sugar flavor. The flavors aren't bad, but the alcohol is killer.

Mouthfeel - The blast of booze in the middle makes it very difficult to drink. Initial flavor is good, but the knowledge that the second wave of flavor will hit is fearsome.

Overall - I doubt I'm going to be able to finish this. I figured I could handle the 12 oz. bottle, but this is intense. Not really worth the flavors it provides.